Obama's Challenge, by Robert Kuttner: on Health Care
Barack Obama:
2003 Rx Drug Bill combined worst of public & private sectors
Obama writes, a little disingenuously, "We know that our health-care system is broken. But ideology & political gamesmanship result in inaction, except for 2003, when we got a prescription drug bill that somehow managed to combine the worst aspects of th
public and private sectors--price gouging and bureaucratic confusion, gaps in coverage and an eye-popping bill for taxpayers."Reading that sentence, you get the feeling that Obama assigns roughly symmetrical blame for that outcome.
But it wasn't "ideology & political gamesmanship" in general that produced such a wretched excuse for a program; it was George W. Bush's alliance with the insurance and drug industries that added red tape, inflated costs, and cut net benefits.
On the other hand, the bill would not have passed unless conservative Democrats had chosen to be Bush's enablers. So Obama's criticism of both parties had some substance--it was not just calculated positioning as an anti-Washington outsider.
Source: Obama`s Challenge, by Robert Kuttner, p. 13
Aug 25, 2008
Barack Obama:
OpEd: Incremental plan builds on patchwork system
Obama's plan would try to achieve close to universal coverage by building on the present system. Americans who had insurance and liked it could keep it. For those who could not afford insurance, there would be government subsidies. There would also be
a "Medicare-like" public program, which individuals under age 65, or employers, could buy into. Employers who failed to provide decent insurance would have to pay a tax. Obama hopes that costs would be contained among plans and by increasing emphasis on
public health and other wellness initiatives. He would also permit the importation of prescription drugs, and would rely on new computerized record keeping to achieve other cost savings.The main problem with Obama's current approach is that his plan
builds on, and further complicates a patchwork profit-driven system that is inherently inefficient. By expanding coverage without addressing the fundamental drivers of escalating cost, Obama (or his successor) risks a draconian cut in services later on.
Source: Obama`s Challenge, by Robert Kuttner, p.167-168
Aug 25, 2008
Bill Ritter:
2007 Colorado Promise: end the crisis of the uninsured
Many progressives need to relearn the art of talking up government. Colorado governor Bill Ritter said at his inauguration:"Let's fulfill the Colorado Promise by ending the crisis of the uninsured and enacting comprehensive health-care reform. Let's
fulfill the Colorado Promise by creating good jobs and fixing our transportation system. And by being stubborn stewards of our land, our air, our water and our wildlife.
"Let's fulfill the Colorado Promise by living up to our part of the social compact
Such an important part of who we are as a state, and really as a nation, is the social compact--the covenant that says government exists for the people, for all people. It exists to provide legitimate public functions.
It exists to ensure we take care of seniors, and the disabled, and for those who struggle mightily--whatever the reason. Government has a responsibility to intersect with their struggle, looking always for ways to improve the quality of their lives."
Source: Obama`s Challenge, by Robert Kuttner, p. 91-92
Aug 25, 2008
George W. Bush:
Tax credits to address crisis of health insurance
Bush & McCain both proposed to address the crisis of health insurance with new programs of tax credits. This approach does nothing to reform the structural flaws in the current health insurance system--it merely subsidizes demand; and the credit is too
low a level to allow the beneficiary to afford decent health insurance. So when they propose mainly tax credits, Democrats increasingly play on Republican turf: Government bad, tax cuts good. The game becomes a battle merely over which taxes to cut.
Source: Obama`s Challenge, by Robert Kuttner, p. 96
Aug 25, 2008
John McCain:
Tax credits to address crisis of health insurance
Bush & McCain both proposed to address the crisis of health insurance with new programs of tax credits. This approach does nothing to reform the structural flaws in the current health insurance system--it merely subsidizes demand; and the credit is too
low a level to allow the beneficiary to afford decent health insurance. So when they propose mainly tax credits, Democrats increasingly play on Republican turf: Government bad, tax cuts good. The game becomes a battle merely over which taxes to cut.
Source: Obama`s Challenge, by Robert Kuttner, p. 96
Aug 25, 2008
Page last updated: Feb 19, 2019